The Family Way

source: The Family Way

Trailer—The Family Way

The Family Way

This movie is the way movies used to be made. If this was made today it would be said to be full of "Stereotypes"!! In 1966 it was about real people in real situations..beautifully filmed with a romantic but harsh insight into how insane life can be. It does tackle what were taboos in it's time as well as perfect storytelling. For me 2 things stand out..the soundtrack was immense ..but moreover..the chemistry is second to none! The incredible Hayley ( Yes I put her first) and John mills worked flawlessly ..as good as Tatum( Yes,,,I put her first too)and Ryan O' Neil in Paper Moon. Directed in almost close up to bring us into the scenes is a masterpiece. This will NEVER be bettered..everybody is 1st class..Hywel Bennet especially. I do not use the word "Perfect" lightly..but perfect it is in every way. I laughed and I cried at the same time. Never EVER to be remade!!

This is a 'quiet' film that holds up well. Bill Naughton had two successful films close together, Alfie, with Michael Caine, and The Family Way with John Mills playing father-in-law to his real life daughter Hayley. Though not boasting quite the ensemble cast of Alfie it does well with Marjorie Rhodes, Avril angers, Liz Fraser, Barry Foster etc and offers an almost perfectly balanced mixture of laughter and tears among the working class of Bolton. Due to a combination of circumstances newly-wed Hywel Bennett is unable to consummate his marriage to Hayley Mills, a situation that persists for some ten weeks and finally comes to a head when virtually everyone and his Uncle Max is in on the quasi scandal. With scarcely a duff performance throughout this is a fine example of Northern grit.

Fear not, I am not going to reveal what I consider to be one of the best lines in all cinema, as spoken by John Mills in this English classic. I agree completely with jw-8's comments on this. Now everybody knows Rhett Butler's "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn." That is not actually the last line in Gone With The Wind, and I am not going to risk being blacklisted for telling you the actual last line in The Family Way either. Just take it from me, if you get a chance to see this movie, give it a look. I see that it is billed here as a comedy, I think it would be much better labelled "drama".

This stands alongside "Its a wonderful life " as something sure to make any intelligent viewer laugh and weep with delight - which is no easy task for a hardened film fan and curmudgeon such as I. I cringe at sentimentality and so much formulaic drama but this sweeps you up, takes its time to draw you in with laughs from delightful performances and a genius script of delicate and succinct storytelling. We the audience, see all the pieces of a small puzzle fit together beautifully. By the end you will gasp with delight at the resolution. Ignore or enjoy the dated setting and period, - this film is not about England in the 1960s its about heart, family and genuine everyday love, with understated and underrated power. One of the greatest movies you have never heard of!!

This film, although made before i was born is still one of my favorite films, Sir John Mills shows his best ever performance, i don't need to tell you the story as you've read the reviews above but the ending is still one of the most powerful i have ever seen, and humbles me to know its only words, fantastic.

The Family Way gives an honest look into two generations of a working class family - each generation trying to live up to other's expectations. The sexuality of more than one male character is questioned and the way that topic is handled is what makes this film unique and memorable. Deep, beautifully performed, romantic, dramatic and very entertaining.

A late entry to the British kitchen sink cycle, which suggests that if there was one thing that the upstanding, chapel going, gossipping classes disapproved of more than sex before marriage, then it was failing to fulfill one's conjugal duties afterwards. Which is unfortunate for a willing, but unable, Hywell Bennett and his virginal bride, portrayed by a divine Hayley Mills. Bennett is good, and Mills is suitably wide eyed and adorable, which in fairness is all the script really asks of her, but the film belongs to the senior cast members. John Mills, ironically portraying his real life daughter's father-in-law, succeeds in being comical and pathetic yet immensely noble, and Marjorie Rhodes is equally compelling as his wife, who loves, yet at times, quietly loathes him. The Family Way is a touching and amusing look at the social mores of Northern England circa the mid-sixties, and a chance to see Hayley Mills' bare bottom!